Sheppard also says that, though the recent storm did an extreme amount of damage, something can be said for electric companies doing a better job of trimming trees around cables and poles.

Many newer developments choose underground lines for aesthetic reasons, although housing developers are usually the ones to pay for the trenching. According to Matt Likovich, spokesman for Atlantic City Electric, underground line installation is five to ten times more expensive than overhead lines.

Likovich also explains that changing from overhead to underground would take new, time consuming, permitting procedures.

“Yes, overhead power lines and associated equipment are more susceptible to trees that fall during storms; however, underground lines are more susceptible to problems associated with flooding and soil composition issues,” Likovich said.

Electrical line reliability relies on the frequency of outages and the duration of the outage. According to a South Carolina Electric and Gas report, underground line outages are 50 percent less than overhead but last 58 percent longer.

“Long term reliability is also an issue,” the report read. “As underground lines get older, they become less reliable. In fact, a Maryland utility found that customers served by 40-year-old overhead lines had better reliability than those served by 20-year-old underground lines.”

The cost for underground transmission lines are also greater than underground distribution lines.

Transmission lines take power from generators to substations while distribution lines take the lower-voltage power to neighborhoods and homes.

For transmission lines, according to the SCE&G, it costs eight to ten times more than overhead lines while distribution lines costs four to six times more.

In the end, moving power lines underground just doesn’t seem feasible.

“To do that throughout (Vineland) would be hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Joe Isabella, director of Vineland Municipal Utilities.

Vineland was hit hard by the storm, with 18,000 customers out of a total of 25,000 losing power. With the exception of Vineland Hills, a mobile home park that was devastated by the storm, the power has been restored.

“I’m extremely proud of how this city pulled together and got out of this mess,” Isabella said.